WELCHES, Ore. - Oregon’s rivers and streams are home to some of the finest outdoor adventures in the country, and there is unique history in a watercraft design that some call the “All Oregon Boat.”

It’s a boat that made history because it made the whitewater adventures safe and easy.

When you sit between the oars of an Oregon classic called the “drift boat,” you slide across rapids, slip past boulders and leave all of your troubles behind.

For local boat builder Ray Heater, you also touch Oregon history.

“Oh, the drift boat is really a special type of boat that represents the state of Oregon," he said. "And all Oregonians should recognize its place on the water and be proud of it too.”

Heater builds wooden drift boats and dories in his Welches, Ore., shop.

He’s the last to make a living planning and hammering the Doug fir and cedar into boats that take people down rivers.

As he stood admiring a pair of boats currently under construction, he told KATU: “These are steelhead drift boats that can go in the back of a pickup, and they really are a part of a tradition that began a century ago.”

Heater has many admirers that travel to his shop from all over to look, perhaps shop and always ask questions about the boats.

He explained: “People would say, 'You should write something down about this.' And I would say, 'Oh boy, that's going to be a tough one for me. I’d rather build a boat than write about one.' Well, then along came Roger (Fletcher), who walks into my shop one day and says, ‘I’m writing a book about the river boat.' And I thought, 'You're the man.' ”

Fletcher never thought of himself as the man to save a chapter of Oregon history – he just likes the shape and feel and history of wooden drift boats.

He builds them too - models that are scaled-down versions.

“They basically require the same technique of a person building a traditional drift boat – just smaller.”

Fletcher has had a love affair with drift boats since he was a boy. Today, he is the author of a new book called “Drift Boats and River Dories,” which tells the story of the earliest boats that were developed for Oregon rivers.

He calls the drift boat design a “unique contribution to the boating world,” and he adds that few people know about them although they’ve likely seen them and perhaps been lucky enough to even fish in one.

Fletcher told KATU that drift boating was spawned on the McKenzie and Rogue rivers. At first the boats were “beasts of burden” that ferried supplies to remote camps along the rivers.

But in the 1920s sport fishing took off and so did guiding people down river to catch the fish.

The boats were distinct because they safely rode “on top of the waves.”

“It’s the crescent shape, and Woodie Hindman, who designed and built it originally, fell in love with this design because it assumed the crescent shape of the waves. He built it, and people loved the ride.”
 
And who wouldn’t? Today, drift boating’s popularity has spread across the country. The “All Oregon Boat” can be seen on rivers across the country; wherever there are rivers waiting for adventure.

Now, thanks to Roger Fletcher, more people will know of the boat’s important past.

“My hope,” he added, “is that more people will see more of these traditional and highly functional and beautiful boats out on the rivers.”

To learn more about Ray Heater, click here.

To learn more about Roger Fletcher and his new book, “Drift Boats and River Dories” click here.